


Severed

by LunaTiel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Relationship, Canon Autistic Character, Canon Disabled Character, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Platonic Life Partners, Psychological Trauma, Reunions, sensory issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaTiel/pseuds/LunaTiel
Summary: When Entrapta makes the spur-of-the-moment decision to leap through a portal after Hordak, she finds herself stranded on Horde Prime’s flagship in the middle of open space. Hordak has been sent to reconditioning, and Entrapta makes it her mission to find him again, no matter what she might lose in the process.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 199





	1. Cut

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This short fic is based on an unpleasant dream I had that stuck with me for weeks, so I decided to work it out in story form. The first chapter is more or less an embellished version of what I saw, while the rest is my attempt to give things closure.

“Nope, definitely not that one!”

Entrapta spun on her heel and sprinted back down the corridor, using her hair to swing herself around a corner and out of sight. Pounding footsteps behind her told her the Horde clone was already catching up.

“That’s twenty three I can cross off my list,” she mumbled to herself as she kept on running. “If only I had a better way to tell everyone apart.”

She had a small drone aiding her yesterday, but it had already been recaptured and reprogrammed. These Horde soldiers meant business. Rounding another corner, Entrapta nearly collided with a sentry robot coming the opposite way. She immediately looked to the ceiling for a grate she might be able to make a jump for, but found nothing. Before it could take aim, Entrapta dodged past it and kept going.

These chases were not her favorite part of this ordeal. The walls were so slick and high, with no ductwork for her to hide in. All she could do was keep running, dodging around corners on the lookout for a place to lie low until the ship was no longer on high alert. That strategy had worked so far, but it was becoming harder all the time. Robotic sentries and Horde clones were everywhere.

_If I could just get my hands on another drone, or some sort of monitor system, I could find out where I’m going. Everywhere looks the same!_

Finding a deserted corridor, Entrapta paused to catch her breath. She looked down at the crystal in her left hand, the crystal she had given to Hordak. Entrapta had found that crystal in the ruins of Hordak’s sanctum in the Fright Zone just before finding Hordak himself, pinned under several feet of rubble. Before she could call out to him, a strange light began to emanate from the ground around him. Entrapta found herself running toward that light, determined to reach Hordak before he disappeared.

That was how she ended up here. At first Entrapta was excited to find herself on Horde Prime’s ship. Hordak had done what he set out to do, and now they were both here, together. That moment did not last long. Horde Prime was not pleased by Hordak’s efforts and disabled him immediately. When Entrapta protested, Prime had her restrained and sent away until he could, in his words, “manage to find a use for her.”

In all her wild ideas, this was not how Entrapta imagined her first trip to space. It was tense and stressful, and she was constantly having to reign herself in from becoming distracted. As much as she itched to study every inch of the ship, this mission was more important. She had to find Hordak before he was reprogrammed. If she was too late, she would have to find some way to reverse what Prime had done.

A mechanical creak caught her attention, and Entrapta saw another sentry bot round the corner at the end of the corridor. The light on its head glowed as it caught sight of her and it lifted an arm, charging its powerful stun laser. Entrapta slipped the crystal back into her pocket and fled the other direction. A silver-green beam struck the wall beside her and ricochet past her feet. She reached the end of the hall and turned the corner to find herself in yet another long sterile corridor.

Before she could make it to the next corner, a door opened in front of her, and Entrapta skidded to a stop as two Horde clones filed out to block her path. She hesitated, one hand reaching for the crystal in her pocket. Could one of these be Hordak?

The clones took advantage of her hesitation and closed in on her. Entrapta realized the danger she was in and decided to take her chances with the bot. Turning around, she was immediately brought short as one of the clones grabbed hold of her hair.

“Let go!” Entrapta tugged against his grip, but he was much stronger than her, easily yanking her off her feet.

She continued to struggle, but between the two of them, the clones managed to subdue her. The first kept a tight hold on her hair, one hand at the base of her pigtails and the other at the ends. The wild strands writhed in his grip to no avail.

“This one is hardly worth the trouble,” said the clone that was holding her. “Would you kindly settle her?”

Entrapta felt a painful shock to her shoulder and collapsed, now a dead weight in her captor’s hands. Her arms were brought behind her back and cuffed securely. Instead of picking her up, the clone dragged her along by her hair as Entrapta tried to gather her fuzzy thoughts. The last time she had been shocked like this, she blacked out. This time, she managed to stay awake, though her ears were ringing and she could barely move.

The clones marched on through several hallways before coming to a sudden stop. Entrapta rolled clumsily to her knees. She could see a pair of white boots in front of them and knew another Horde clone was blocking their way.

“Ah, the wayward princess has reappeared at last.”

Entrapta felt herself lifted up, her feet dangling as she was brought to his eye level. A jolt went through her as she looked at his face. Hordak’s face. Only, she knew it wasn’t him. None of them were.

The Horde clone tilted his head with a slow smile. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

By the glow of his eyes, Entrapta knew it was Prime speaking. She cringed and looked down, wishing she could hide her face.

“I tire of your wanderings, as my brothers tire of your insistent desire to corrupt them with your backward ways.”

“What have you done with Hordak?” she demanded.

“Hordak?” Prime laughed. Entrapta squeaked as he grabbed hold of her chin and forced her to look at him. “I’m afraid no such person exists. You are wasting your time, and mine.”

“You’re wrong,” she retorted. “I know he’s here!” At her exclamation, a strand of her hair broke free of her captor’s grip to slap Prime’s hand away from her.

Prime’s host caught the lilac strand easily. “You are a weed, princess, spreading everywhere you don’t belong.” His smile widened. “I will not have weeds in my garden. No, they must be cut.”

One of the clones stepped forward and raised what looked to be a stun baton. Entrapta tensed in anticipation of being shocked again. Instead, the weapon did something she’d never seen before. A bright green blade rose up from between the contact points, turning the baton into a knife. Her eyes widened in fascination at the sight of the glowing blade. Entrapta was so preoccupied by the design of this new weapon that she did not register what was about to happen until the clone brought his knife dangerously close to her hair.

“Stop!” she cried, struggling madly. “Don’t! Please, no, don’t! No no no no no--”

Her words cut off in a shriek as the blade cut cleanly through one of her pigtails. It was the most terrible feeling she had ever experienced. Not quite pain, but it may as well have been. Half of her scalp felt numb as if ice had been thrown over her head. She slumped in the clone’s grip, dangling lopsidedly from her remaining pigtail.

The strands of her hair writhed on the ground for a moment before curling up into a lifeless pile. Entrapta could not bear to look at it, so she looked up, locking eyes with the clone wielding the knife. He had drawn back slightly, staring at her. Entrapta stared back, tears of shock and pain making her vision swim.

“Now, now,” Prime scolded. “It does no good to leave work uneven.”

Entrapta sobbed. “Why are you doing this? Please stop!”

The clone raised his knife halfheartedly, but made no move to come forward.

“Don’t...”

“Did you not hear me?” Prime’s voice was harsh and dangerous.

The clone stiffened. He gave a single sharp nod and raised the knife.

Entrapta screwed her eyes shut, crying out as the rest of her hair was cut. She barely felt the pain in her knees as she was dropped to the floor. Her entire head felt as if it were on fire. Prime said something to her, but she didn’t hear it. Entrapta was numb to everything but the terrible feeling in her head.

She hardly remembered being carried back to her cell. When she finally found herself alone again, her hands free of restraints, Entrapta could only raise her hands to her head and feel the tender ends of her hair, running her fingers through them again and again, sobbing in helpless anguish.

~~~

As he left the cell, one Horde clone stopped short of the others. His brothers gave him a questioning look. “Why have you stopped, brother?” one asked.

“I will guard the prisoner,” he replied. “Glory be to Prime.”

“Glory be to Prime,” they intoned.

When the two were long out of sight, the clone lifted his baton and stared at it. One single lilac hair still clung to the end. He picked the hair up and slowly, absently, twined it around his finger. There was something familiar about the woman in this cell. He knew her, but he couldn’t place why, and when she screamed--

He closed his eyes and let out a frustrated breath. It hurt him to hear her scream, just as it was hurting him to hear her crying. A part of him wanted to turn around and shout at her to keep quiet, if only to give him some peace. Yet, there was something else that held him back.

Irritably, he brushed the hair aside. It drifted benignly onto the clean white floor. With one last glance at the cell door, he decided the best thing he could do was leave. He could not stand to be here any longer.

_I will tell Lord Prime of this, and he will purge me of these strange thoughts._

The sounds of the prisoner’s grief chased after him down the hall, but he did not stop.

~~~

Entrapta had no concept for how much time had passed. She spent her waking hours curled up on the bed, hardly moving. Sometimes she left her eyes open, staring aimlessly at the smooth walls. Other times she would close her eyes until sleep finally took her. There was nothing in this plain white room to distract from her despair.

She had never cut her hair before, aside from the bangs. It grew swiftly and wildly when she was a child, gradually slowing to a stop when it got long enough for her to trip over. The strands were extremely strong and could not be cut by the usual means. Yet the green knife had sliced through her hair like it was nothing. Now everything felt wrong. The tails of Entrapta’s hair helped her build and explore, to climb wherever she wanted to go. They were her legs, her arms, her hands. She could reach out to people in a way that felt safe. Now that was gone. At every movement, she felt the cropped strands writhe on her scalp, and the pain came back to her again.

As strange as it felt, it helped to run her fingers through what was left of her hair. There was something soothing about the sensation. During the worst of times, Entrapta would do this to distract herself, drowning out the rising feelings of emptiness.

Thinking about Hordak only made things worse. It brought her mind straight to the Horde clone wielding the knife. He had recognized her, she was sure of it, and that could only mean one thing.

Her scalp tingled as her hair stood on end. Frantically, Entrapta brushed it down with her fingers, her heart pounding painfully. Hordak would never do something so awful to her. He was her friend, her partner.

But he had. Out of all the clones on this vast ship, it had been Hordak who hurt her so deeply. A sob burst from her, and she shook her head sharply, determined not to dissolve into her grief. Despite her loss, Entrapta could not hate Hordak for what he did to her. She still cared about him just as much, leaving her heart a tangled mess of emotions.

Sometimes the sound of booted feet intruded into her thoughts, but she never turned or looked up. Entrapta was so lost in her own inner world that the voice of her guards was gibberish to her ears. Sometimes, when she felt up to it, she would turn around and muster the energy to get up and eat some of the food that was left for her. She would scrape a few small chunks off with her finger and leave the rest, returning to her solitude.

Then something changed. One day, when she couldn’t stand feeling hungry any longer, she turned around to find the food on the tray had been cut into tiny perfectly spaced pieces.

The sight made her heart lift for the first time in days. She ate all the food on the tray, another first for her. Afterward, Entrapta sat cross-legged on the floor, looking from the tray to the empty doorway.

It must have been Hordak. Who else would have known about her preference for tiny food?

That spark of hope in her heart brought Entrapta to her feet. Slowly she came to stand beside the door to her cell. The field that barred her way was a flat green. She could see nothing past it. Still, she knew, no matter what Prime said, there was someone here who cared about her.

Her scalp prickled as the short strands of her hair swayed, bringing tears to her eyes. She had meant to reach out and touch the door. Looking down, Entrapta stared at her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She brought her eyes back up to the door and slowly, tentatively, reached out with her hand instead.

The forcefield tingled against her palm. It was a strange feeling, but she did not pull away. Hordak might be outside her cell right now, watching her.

“Thank you.”

Returning to the back of the room, Entrapta sat back down on the bed, filled with new resolve. There was a way out of this, she was sure of it. Hordak knew where to find her. All she had to do was wait for him to return.


	2. Falling

The Horde clone took it as an encouraging sign their guest was sitting up. Her refusal to move or eat had convinced him something was deeply wrong with her, but he was not going to allow Horde Prime’s guest to die on his watch. Changing her food rations seemed illogical at the time, yet it appeared to have done some good. She was already more alert. 

“You remembered the tiny food,” she blurted before he could set the tray down. 

Startled to hear her speak, he blinked at her in confusion.

“It is you, isn’t it?” She got to her feet, eyes wide. “Hordak.”

The name sent a shiver through him. “Names are not permitted for one such as I,” he said.

“But you remember me,” she insisted. “I know you do. How else would you know I only eat tiny food?” Her eyes widened and she took a step forward. “Do you remember the time I made you soup? Or the time --”

“No,” he snapped. “I remember nothing.”

She flinched at his tone, and he immediately felt sorry for being so harsh with her. Hunching her shoulders, she pointed at the tray. “Then why did you cut my food that way?” she asked in a small voice.

The clone looked down to stare at the tray. “I… I don’t know.”

“It’s alright,” She said, coming several steps closer. “Maybe there’s too much to remember right away. You just need time. It’s all in there, I’m sure of it.”

The clone looked back up at her and was immediately disarmed by her smile. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

She tilted her head. “Like what?”

“What you’re doing,” he flustered, ears flat. “You’re… smiling at me.” 

Laughing, she put a hand to her face. “I missed you.”

“You must be mistaken,” he argued, holding out the tray. “We have never spoken before. I am only here to offer you sustenance.”

As she looked from him to the food on the tray, her hair rippled as if disturbed by a wind. Instead of accepting the food, she began to rummage through her pockets. “It’s ok if you don’t remember everything at once,” she said quickly, “but maybe this will help. Do you recognize it?”

In her hands, she held a small diamond-shaped crystal with symbols etched on its surface. His eyes widened, and he nearly dropped the tray in shock. That crystal. Where had he seen it before? 

He turned to question her for answers, and was further shocked when a name surfaced into his thoughts. “Entrapta?”

At the sound of her name, Entrapta jumped with a sudden burst of energy. “You  _ do  _ remember me, I knew it!”

Still confused and overwhelmed, he searched her face, both hoping and dreading another spark of memory. He was constantly distracted by her hair. The way it moved unsettled him. “Something is not right,” he said. “Your hair…”

Entrapta’s excitement died instantly. Her eyes widened, her hair grew suddenly limp, and she hunched her shoulders, wilting before his eyes. “They cut it,” she murmured.

He winced as a sudden scream echoed through his head. It was her scream, he had no doubts, yet Entrapta had not moved her mouth at all. The room seemed to spin around him. This was not right. He shouldn’t be here.

Entrapta had taken another tentative step toward him. He shoved the tray at her, forcing her to catch it or let it fall to the floor. “Take it,” he said, his voice strained. “I must go.”

He turned away and did not look back. Even when erecting the barrier to her cell, he was careful not to look at her. On the edge of his vision, he could see Entrapta was still standing where he had left her, holding the tray. He knew he had hurt her and that knowledge upset him. 

Clenching his hands in frustration, he pounded his fist into the wall beside him.  _ Who is this woman that she can do this to me? _

“Brother.”

His head snapped up to find one of his fellow clones approaching down the hall. 

“Your behavior is most erratic,” the other said flatly. “Report to Horde Prime for inspection immediately.”

A sense of deep shame settled over him. He needed to banish all thoughts of Entrapta from his mind. They would only compromise his loyalty to his supreme leader. None was wiser than Prime. He bowed his head in obedience, sweeping away the last glimmer of regret from his heart.

~~~

The next day, Entrapta was once again curled up on her bed in despair. 

When Hordak brought her food, it was no longer in neatly divided cubes. This had confused her at first, and she began to suspect Horde Prime had assigned a new clone to her cell. That was until his ears flattened at the sound of his name. This time, however, he would not talk to her. He left immediately without listening to anything else she tried to say, leaving Entrapta to wonder what she had done wrong. 

She knew Prime must have reset Hordak’s memories again. That was the only explanation. Did Prime also have some way of forcing Hordak not to speak to her? He could be outside her cell right now, but if he would not talk to her, how would she ever reach him? Was there even a point in trying anymore?

Only once had Entrapta ever felt so desperately alone; her exile on Beast Island. There had been plenty of distractions, of course, but beneath the excitement of discovery was the sense that she could never go back to the others, that she was meant to be by herself. The isolation had grown so strong she had almost let the island keep her. Making friends was too hard. Everyone always left her behind. There was just too much wrong with her. 

“Adora and Bow came for me,” she murmured to herself. “Bow said… having friends isn’t easy. He said it takes everything you have.”

It had been a long time since Entrapta thought about what Bow said to her on Beast Island. Friendship looked so easy for everyone else, but Bow told her it takes work to be there for other people. Hordak was her friend, the first person she felt truly understood her. A good friend would do whatever it took to help him. If she gave up, she would be leaving him, just like the people she thought were her friends left her.

Entrapta sat up straight, looking back at the doorway with renewed purpose. Bow was right. Friendship was hard, but that didn’t mean she should stop trying.

“I’m not giving up,” she said loudly. “Hordak, if you can hear me, I am not giving up on you. I’m still your friend. Even if you never remember me!” 

She stood like that for several moments, glaring defiantly at the doorway. It was quite possible no one was there to hear her, but if her theory was correct, Hordak was still there, silently watching her cell.

“Bold words, little sister.”

Entrapta flinched back as the door suddenly opened and a Horde clone stepped through, eyes glowing with the intelligence of Horde Prime. 

“I had hoped to break you of this foolish belief by now, but perhaps your mind is simply incapable of grasping the truth.”

Entrapta stood frozen as Prime sauntered up to her. He gripped her shoulders tightly and she jumped, but she was unable to pull away. Prime knelt down to her eye level and brought his face very close to hers.

“This vessel does not know you,” he said. “Hordak does not exist. You are alone.”

“No!” she shouted, her voice high with distress. “You’re wrong! Hordak is in there, and you can’t control him forever!”

Prime laughed, a low, dark sound that made Entrapta uneasy. He gave her shoulders a final painful squeeze before rising to his feet and turning away. 

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said offhandedly. “Perhaps this vessel has been truly corrupted. What a shame. I shall have to dispose of him.”

Entrapta felt her legs go suddenly numb. She wobbled to keep her balance as the full weight of his words crushed the air from her lungs. All she could do was stare as Prime slowly turned Hordak’s body around to face her again.

“You shouldn’t be surprised,” Prime continued, arching an eyebrow. “I have no use for imperfect clones. Shall I destroy him now? It really doesn’t take much.”

Entrapta waved her arms desperately. “No, don’t!”

“Then do not test me.” Prime’s smile was still plastered to his face, but his eyes had grown hard. “I am a patient man, but I do not appreciate your childish behavior.”

This was all too much for Entrapta. Burying her face in her hands, she turned away, trying to stifle a sob.

“We shall see who is right in the end, little sister. Remember, Prime sees all.”

With that, he was gone, leaving silence in his wake. Entrapta turned around to find Hordak staring blankly at her. He frowned and took a step forward. 

“You don’t look well,” he said. “Is something wrong?”

Still overwhelmed, Entrapta turned away, covering her head.

“Entrapta…”

“Go away,” she cried, throwing herself onto the bed and curling into a ball. 

His footsteps followed her, and after a moment she felt the bed depress as he sat down beside her. Entrapta’s hair spiked beneath her hands, and she cried out in pain and frustration. “Leave me alone!”

“I will not,” he argued. “You are clearly sick and in need of medical attention.”

Entrapta jerked away as his hand touched her shoulder. “No, I’m not! Just leave me here!”

She had never felt so helpless. All she could do was cry, rocking back and forth as she clutched the broken ends of her hair. She could never do anything right. As usual, she had gone and ruined everything. 

The Horde clone still had not left. He watched Entrapta laying there crying, his chest tight with some unknown emotion. He could not understand what was wrong with her. Only a moment ago she had spoken so confidently, and now she would not even look at him.  _ She must be very sick,  _ he thought to himself.  _ Perhaps she has still not been eating enough. _

Entrapta was dragging her hands through her hair again. He noticed she did that a lot. It gave him a sudden realization.  _ Cutting her hair has deeply injured her. It must be her head still causing her pain. _

He closed his eyes and turned away. He had been the one wielding the knife. That much he remembered now. It was his fault she was suffering, and there was nothing he could do to make it right.  _ Prime gave me a clear order,  _ he argued to himself.  _ I had to.  _

That conviction crumbled as he continued to watch Entrapta cradle her head, shaking and crying. Without even meaning to, he reached out and put his hand over hers. 

“I’m sorry.”

This was something so unexpected Entrapta was too shocked to respond. As she lay there caged in her grief, she felt his fingers slide gently through her hair, the same motion she did so many times as she tried to keep herself from spiraling out of control. No one else had ever touched her head like this. Under any other circumstances she might have pulled away, but from Hordak, the person she cared about more than anything, the gesture was immediately comforting. The tight pain in her chest began to ease, replaced by a growing ember of warmth. Entrapta closed her eyes and hugged her arms to her chest, letting him caress her hair as her sobs slowly subsided. 

The Horde clone was just as shocked as she was. Her hair stirred against his touch like a living thing, and for a moment he thought he had made things worse, but as he felt her relax he realized she did not want him to stop. As he sat beside her stroking her hair, he knew then that Entrapta was right. She did know him, and he knew her. More than that, he cared for her. 

He shook his head, mortified at such mutinous thoughts.  _ Prime must know this. Why has he not purged me of these flaws? _

He knew that answer too; Prime  _ had _ purged him. Perhaps he had done so many times, and every time Entrapta was there to remind him of who he really was. 

_ She must realize it is futile,  _ he thought.  _ Any memory I have will simply be purged again.  _ Yet, he wondered why these memories needed to be purged at all. Surely a single reconditioning should have been enough. If Horde Prime was having to reset his memories multiple times, that must mean these memories were so strong they could not be destroyed. How could that be?

Beside him, Entrapta was now almost still, her breathing gentle and even. He found himself smiling. Drawing away, he rose to leave. Now that she was finally resting peacefully, it would be best not to disturb her.

“You stayed.”

Startled, he looked down to find Entrapta’s eyes open. He thought she had been asleep.

“You stayed even when I told you to go,” she said. Her voice was hoarse from crying. “Why?”

The clone did not know how to respond. He glanced around indecisively. “Do you still want me to leave?”

“No,” she shook her head. “You can stay, if… if you want to.”

“Very well, then. I shall stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this project, I made a stylistic choice with names. Entrapta always refers to Hordak by name, but because Hordak has not yet accepted this identity, he doesn't refer to himself that way. I hope the perspective shifts are not too confusing...


	3. Stranded

The Horde clone that was once Hordak strode through the hallway at a brisk pace, his boots clicking sharply against the floor. He was in a very foul mood.

For several days now, he had begun to feel decidedly unwell. It was hard to place what was wrong. Sometimes he was fine, but other times he felt a strange tingling numbness in his limbs. This morning, he had been walking the corridors as normal when a sudden sharp pain caused him to stagger. He was only grateful none of his brothers were present to see such an obvious display of weakness.

Horde Prime was never afflicted with illness, and all Horde clones were expected to adhere to this standard of perfection. He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers, relieved to see them move as expected despite the odd pins and needles.

_Am I… failing?_

He wondered if this was what it felt like to die. Even if that were the case, it would not be what killed him in the end. His body would deteriorate to the point he could no longer hide it, and Horde Prime would discard him.

Arriving at his destination, he pushed aside such morbid thoughts and returned his mind to the other problem that consumed most of his time; Entrapta.

The records had no information about her. He had already checked thoroughly. Entrapta was not some valuable prisoner of war, nor was she a trophy from a broken planet. As far as he could see, Horde Prime was merely keeping her on a whim.

 _There has to be a reason_ , he thought to himself as he watched her through the barrier.

Entrapta had become much more animated lately. Right now she was pacing along the side of the room, and as he continued to watch, she ran over to the bed, jumped on top of it, and leapt off, arms outstretched as if trying to touch the ceiling. It was a futile effort. The ceiling of the room was well out of reach. Yet when she landed, gazing upward, she was smiling to herself, as if she had made some sort of accomplishment.

Her joy was luminous, like a star shining in the night. It brought that insistent feeling of familiarity that so confused him. Perhaps knowing more about her would give him peace. Whatever she was, Entrapta was always straightforward with him. She would tell him whatever he wanted to know.

He held his hand over the barrier, hesitant. His duty was to guard her cell from the outside, watching her through the barrier to make sure she did not attempt to escape. The only time he was permitted to enter was to give her food. To go inside now would be to defy a direct order from Prime.

The corridors were silent. Through the ever-present drone of the Hivemind in the back of his thoughts, he knew Prime’s attention was elsewhere. Embracing the risk, he made his decision.

Her face brightened at the sight of him. “You’re back early! Does this mean you remember now?”

Still troubled by his own recklessness, he shook his head. “It is clear to me there is much I do not know,” he began awkwardly. “I would be grateful for some answers.”

Entrapta watched him with wide-eyed attentiveness.

“I wish to understand more about you,” he went on. “Who are you, Entrapta?”

“Me?” she blinked in surprise. “I’m a scientist! I’ve spent years investigating the ancient technology of the First Ones and integrating it with modern machinery. I used to work in my laboratory in Dryl, but then I was working in the Fright Zone making bots for the Horde, and then I got sent to Beast Island, which had an incredible amount of First One’s tech! I could have stayed there forever… but that would have been bad.” She paused with a frown, then brightened again. “Oh, and I’m the princess of Dryl! It’s a small mining kingdom, mostly just me and the bots I build, but it’s probably empty now…”

He tried his best to listen, but her whirlwind rambling made his head spin. “And why are you here?” he demanded, a bit more harshly than intended.

Entrapta seemed unaffected by his tone. “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “They put me in here.”

“That is not what I meant. Why have you come here?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I came for you.”

His eyes narrowed, unwilling to believe her. “What planet do you come from?”

“I’m from Etheria,” she answered. “We were stranded in an empty dimension cut off from the rest of the universe, but we got pulled through a massive portal, and then Prime was able to use a smaller portal to take us to his ship.”

“Etheria…” The word was very familiar, conjuring the sensation of sights and sounds on the edge of his consciousness. No matter how much he tried to bring these into sharper clarity, they remained firmly out of reach. He did not let this discourage him. At least now he had a place to start. He would search the records on Etheria. Perhaps then, everything would become clear.

Now that he was about to leave, the full weight of what he was doing filled him with cold fear. Horde Prime must never know of this, but keeping such things from him was impossible.

_Prime knows all._

The words echoed through his head. His instinct was to rush to Prime’s side, confess his grave error and hope for forgiveness, but this time he had so much to lose. He did not want to forget Entrapta. He wanted answers.

 _I should not want anything_ , he thought savagely. That strange sick feeling was coming over him again. Closing his eyes, he whirled around and stalked toward the door.

“You’re leaving already?”

He stopped, feeling somehow he owed her an explanation. “There is something I must do,” he said without turning around.

Her shoes clicked against the floor as she shuffled her feet. “Will you come back?”

 _Say nothing_ , he told himself. _Walk away…_ It was a losing battle.

“Yes.”

“Well, you know where I am,” she said brightly.

He nodded, knowing he could never tell her how much of an anchor that was in recent days. As he took his next step, sudden pain tore through him again and he stumbled forward, barely managing to catch himself.

Entrapta rushed to his side immediately. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is it happening again?”

About to loose an angry retort, he stopped in astonishment. He slowly turned to look at her, eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Come sit down first,” she said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him back to the edge of the bed. “Sit.”

He obeyed with a defiant grumble, flexing his hands in an effort to dispel the lingering numbness. Entrapta was watching him with worry and concern. He could not decide if that made him feel comforted or irritated. “What is happening to me?” he demanded.

“Well, I remember you told me there was a flaw in your cloning.”

Though Entrapta spoke in a very neutral way, he flinched as if she had struck him. “What?” he hissed.

“When we first met, your body was falling apart,” she said rapidly. “So you made armor to hold yourself together, and that started falling apart too. Then I made you new armor with First Ones tech. I thought the Exo-Suit might have been my best invention yet. It seemed to be working well, but it probably failed because the data crystal got pulled out. I still have it, right here!”

Entrapta dug something out of her pocket and held it up. Bright light winked off the surface of a pink crystal. The sight of it sent a surge of recognition through him, and he found his hand drifting to rest just below his collar as if expecting to find something there. He frowned in confusion, letting his hand drop.

“If you can get me the right components, I can make you a new set of armor,” she went on. “And we can power it with this!”

The sudden offer took him off-guard. “You would do this for me?”

“Of course!” she beamed. “I’ll just need some equipment, and my tools, and it would be nice to have a better workspace than this room, if we can manage it, but I think --”

He cut her off. “And that will cure whatever this is that’s wrong with me.”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Entrapta replied. “The suit is meant to compensate for your body’s weakness, but we’d really have to test it to make sure the armor would keep you up and running long-term. I’d probably have to make modifications over time, or even build it all over again and make one that’s even better!”

She had stood up to pace the room, still talking to herself. “Just think of the attachments I could add! I could double your strength output, maybe even triple it! The possibilities are endless!”

Entrapta was talking rapidly, eyes glowing with excitement, the strands of her hair lifted around her face like a halo. It was the happiest he had ever seen her.

The clone frowned and turned away, guarding himself from being swept away by her enthusiasm so it would not blind him to reality. Horde Prime would never allow such armor to be made for him. If he could not perform his duties as his brothers could, he would simply be cast aside. But if Entrapta was right and Prime already knew of his flaws, why would Prime keep him like this? Punishment for his past mistakes, perhaps. Mistakes he could not even remember.

“So there is nothing that can be done to cure me of this affliction?” he asked dully.

Entrapta waved a hand at him and kept on pacing. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Nobody’s perfect. That’s the fun of it. If everything was perfect, there would be nothing to do, nothing to discover.”

“I was made in Horde Prime’s glorious image,” he said automatically. “There is no form more perfect. I am a failure, a disgrace to him.”

“I think you’re looking at this all wrong,” she said, marching up to him. “You can’t be good at everything. That doesn’t mean you should give up. Remember, your imperfections are beautiful!”

He stared at her, overcome by the feeling she had said those words to him before. Seeing her smile at him like that made him feel so light inside that he almost believed her. As these new emotions fought with all he had been taught, his conditioning proved too strong. Defects were worthless to Prime. That fact was absolute.

“You do not understand,” he said harshly, turning away again. “If I do not discover a way to rid myself of these flaws, I will be destroyed.”

Entrapta took a step back from him with a sharp breath. There it was again, the cage closing in around them both. She balled her hands into fists. “Then... come back to Etheria with me!” she exclaimed. “If I had my equipment, I could make your armor, and then you’d be fine, and we could get away to a place where Prime can’t destroy you!”

He shook his head, standing up with a faraway look in his eyes. “Without Prime’s will, I am nothing.”

“That’s not true!” she cried. “You’re Hordak. You’re a scientist, an inventor. You may not remember, but _I_ do. You’re my friend, and you were never nothing!”

There it was again, that pull, a pinpoint of light in the dark. To Entrapta, he was worth something. If he were not tethered to Prime, perhaps he could come to feel as she did. Perhaps he could make something of himself, something new.

Impossible. It was a tempting dream, but a dream nonetheless, not meant for someone like him. “I am a soldier of Horde Prime. My place is by his side.”

Entrapta felt a painful constriction in her chest. She looked down at her feet. “You don’t want to go with me?”

“If you wish to leave, I will do what I can to help. I cannot go with you.”

Entrapta was in turmoil. She had hoped once Hordak remembered her, they could escape this place together, take a ship and have the wide universe unfold before them. Maybe it was impossible. Maybe the only way to be together was like this. She could stay here, stay and look after Hordak as long as Prime allowed, to make sure he was safe. To make sure he lived.

Hordak had turned away from her and was walking through the door. If he left now, this might be the last time she ever saw him.

“Wait!” Entrapta called to him as he reached the doorway. “I want to help. Forget the armor, I’ll… I’ll see what else I can do.”

He stopped but did not turn around. “What else can be done?”

Trying desperately to think of something, Entrapta’s eyes settled on the green terminal embedded into the back of his neck. It was the only chance she had. “If there’s a problem in your neural network, I might be able to repair it. The terminal on your neck,” she pointed, “I could have a look at it.”

Hordak did not respond.

“I’d need tools, of course,” Entrapta continued tentatively. “If you have my toolset somewhere, there’s a small case of instruments. That should be all I need.”

There was another long silence. “I will try.”

With that, he left, and Entrapta was once again alone.


	4. Beginning

Entrapta paced back and forth along the length of her cell, her hair standing on end, wondering whether Horde Prime had found out about Hordak and reset his memory again. With his galactic conquests, surely Prime had other things on his mind other than what she and Hordak were doing. He could not be watching them all the time. But if the last few times were anything to go by, it was more likely than not Hordak would return with no memory of her.

She knew it did no good to worry, but she couldn’t help it. There was nothing else to do in this sterile white room.

“I’ll just have to start over,” she said to herself. “As many times as it takes.” Then she remembered Prime’s last words to her and shivered. “Or maybe it’s best not to say anything…”

There was still a chance Hordak would be able to bring her tools to her. If he could do that, then Entrapta would be able to see if there was anything to be done about his failing body, or another way to restore his memories.

Now that Entrapta had more time to think, she came to realize the terminal might be the key to everything. She had seen Prime use it to disable Hordak when they first arrived on this ship. Perhaps this was what she needed to bring Hordak’s memories back. If she could repair his body and his memory, perhaps they could still escape together.

The thought filled her with hopeful excitement, but an uncharacteristic thorn of doubt kept her pacing restlessly. There was also the chance her meddling would lead to disaster. She might reset his memory again by accident, or worse, disable him entirely. If that terminal was as important as Entrapta believed it was, she would have to take extreme care. 

Entrapta was still pacing when the field outside her cell dropped. She looked to the entryway only for her heart to sink. Every time Hordak remembered her, he brought her tiny food. This time, the only thing on the tray was a big lumpy bar.

She slipped her hand into her pocket and felt the edges of Hordak’s crystal, ready to jog his memory, then she froze. Another clone was watching her from the hallway. His eyes glittered as he stared at her. Prime.

Entrapta looked away, jamming both hands into her pockets. She was not going to say anything to Hordak in front of Horde Prime, not after what happened last time.

Hordak had walked right past her and set the tray on the bed, something he had never done before, then left without a word. As he did so, the clone that was Prime stepped forward. Entrapta’s eyes shifted nervously to Hordak, but the barrier fell down between them, cutting him from sight. 

She jumped back with a sharp jolt as she felt Prime’s hand brush the top of her head. Entrapta glared at him, wide-eyed, hair bristling. He chuckled, watching her with an amused smile. Her heart was hammering wildly. Why had he touched her like that?

“An intriguing substance, your hair,” said Prime. “I have not encountered its like before. So delicate and yet so durable. It appears to renew itself when attached to the roots, if slowly.” 

He reached for her again, and Entrapta flinched away. “Stop!”

“So defensive. There is no need to fret. Your hair has hardly grown since my last collection. It will be some time before I can take another.”

Entrapta looked down, shivering. 

“Not very talkative today, I see.” He leaned down, tilting his head. “Are you missing your friend? Would you like to see him again?”

_ Don’t say anything,  _ she told herself.  _ Don’t look at him. Don’t say anything.  _ Gripping Hordak’s crystal more tightly in her pocket, Entrapta stubbornly kept her eyes to the ground. She was not going to let Prime hurt Hordak because of her. 

“Perhaps you are capable of reform after all.” Entrapta screwed her eyes shut as he placed his hand over her head, but this time she stood stiffly and did not move. “Do not fear,” he went on. “This pain will be temporary. In time, you will forget your... preoccupation.”

Entrapta stood stock still as Prime moved away. She did not look back up until the barrier had returned, leaving her alone in the room. As soon as he was out of her sight, Entrapta ruffled her hair vigorously in an attempt to banish the feeling of his hand on her head. She had never hated anyone before, but Horde Prime was becoming close to the first.

There was no way for Entrapta to know how much Prime knew about her plan. All she could do was wait and hope that next time Hordak visited her, he would be alone.

Entrapta sat down on the bed beside her tray of food and picked at it halfheartedly. She was not hungry enough to eat it, but the motion eased some of her pent up anxiety. After a few moments of aimless chipping, her fingernail hit something hard. She peered more closely at the food and noticed a hard corner of what appeared to be metal poking out into the open.  _ How odd! _

After a moment, she recognized the color of the metal and gasped. This was the corner of her tool tin. Hordak had stuffed it into her food. 

She whipped her head up as the barrier disappeared again in a flash of light. Entrapta jumped to her feet, her body blocking the tin from sight. “What do you want?” she asked rapidly, her heart pounding.

The clone held up his hand. “Do not worry, Entrapta. Prime should not disturb us any longer.”

Entrapta was giddy with relief. “Hordak!”

“I thought your food would be an adequate disguise,” he said. “It seems to have worked well.”

“That was genius,” she replied enthusiastically. “I would have never thought of it!”

“It is still perfectly edible,” he explained as he pulled out a folded cloth from his pocket. “However, if it is not to your taste, I do have these.”

Entrapta unfolded the cloth to reveal tiny orange cubes of food. “You remembered!” she squeaked.

He nodded with a smile.

_ Hordak came back! He came back, and he remembers me!  _ Lost in the joy of the moment, Entrapta rushed forward and threw her arms around him in a sudden fierce hug.

This was far from what the clone had been expecting. At first he was uncomfortable, but then he smiled and held her back for a brief moment before she pulled away. It was strange to feel so close to someone he knew very little about. Between the moments of confusion and frustration, being with Entrapta made him happy. It was not a peaceful happiness, but it was better than the emptiness of his life outside this small room. The inner peace of Prime’s soldiers was the peace of oblivion. No choices, no uncertainty, no thought.

The idea that he had a life outside of this existence seemed absurd, and yet the evidence was before him. Entrapta had the answers about who he had been before. All he had to do was ask.

“You have been… helpful in answering my questions,” he faltered. “I would be grateful if you could tell me more.”

“Of course,” she replied. “What do you want to know?”

“Can you... tell me about Hordak? What was… he... like?”

She tilted her head. “Well, when we worked together, you--- ah, he, looked different than now. Red eyes, for one thing, and dark hair. He kept to himself a lot and didn’t say much when we worked, but he was very helpful. Hordak was great with tech when he wasn’t being impatient. Sometimes he’d get mad at me and chase me off, but I always came back.” 

“Your description is not very flattering,” he remarked.

“Oh, did I do a bad job?” Entrapta looked away with a worried frown. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m not very good at… people.”

_ What an odd thing to say,  _ he thought. “You said you would not give up, even if --” 

He stopped himself. He had almost said ‘even if I don’t remember you.’ It was difficult now to meet her eyes. He felt embarrassed and unsure. “I want to know who Hordak is to you,” he said finally. “What is it that’s so important?”

“We were lab partners,” she said brightly. “I helped him with the portal that…” Entrapta paused and looked down, her hands clasped in her lap. “Hordak was my friend. He was the one that told me other planets existed. I never had a lab partner before, but when I worked with him, I was happy. I…”

The silence was tense as he waited for what else she might say. Nothing could have prepared him for what came next.   


“I wanted to see the stars with you.”

Those words struck like a shock of electricity. Entrapta was looking at him with such hope, such bright kindness, he could not help but be touched by it. Before he could think to say anything, she reached out and her fingers brushed his hand. It was a brief, shy touch that lasted only a moment. 

“It’s alright if that never happens,” she said. “I’m happy to be friends with you, Hordak.”

This time he did not resist. Instead, he mirrored her gesture and placed his hand over hers. Entrapta’s gaze faltered for a moment, but her smile widened, and her hair swayed up at the ends. Hordak smiled back, embracing the name that was once his. 

~~~

“Okay! Let’s see what we have to work with.”

Hordak was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Entrapta knelt behind him, the instruments from her toolkit spread over the blanket beside her. She fidgeted with the tools in her hands, both excited and nervous to start. 

This was the first time she would be attempting something so delicate without the use of her hair. The tools felt clumsy and awkward in her hands, but this was what she had to work with. It would have to do.

“Ready?” she asked.

Hordak had not moved since sitting down, remaining still as a statue. “Yes.” 

“Here we go!” Entrapta selected her instruments and took her first look inside. 

The interior of the socket was fascinatingly intricate. Entrapta fought down the impulse to fidget with everything in sight to see what would happen. She had to keep her focus if she wanted to help her friend. 

The sides were lined with countless tiny wires and connections tightly wound together. It was very difficult to prise them apart with what limited space she had to work with. “Nothing seems to be missing or disconnected,” she mused aloud. “But maybe if I…”

Hordak flinched with a growl of pain. Entrapta froze. “Sorry!”

“I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Have you found the problem?”

“No, I think I just pushed the wrong spot,” she replied. “Things are a bit tangled up over here. How does it feel when I press this?”

“I feel nothing.”

“How about here?”

Hordak turned his head sharply. “I cannot see anything!”

“Oops! Let me fix that, hold on. Is that better?”

“Yes…”

“Sorry,” she said again. “Everything is so packed together, it’s hard to see what I’m -- aha!” 

There was a node at the very end, right where the metal and wires met the organic tissue of his nervous system. When Prime manually reset Hordak, he was interfacing with this point, Entrapta was sure of it.

“What is it? What do you see?”

“The node at the center is what connects you to Horde Prime, isn’t it?”

“It is quite possible, but what does that have to do with...” He trailed off, starting to catch on.

“If I’m right, and this is the connection point, I could disconnect you from Horde Prime.” Entrapta was breathless with excitement. “That, or it’s just the manual reset point. Even if it does disconnect you, there’s still a large chance you’ll lose all your memories again.” She drew back, looking down at the thin probe in her hand. “Maybe I shouldn’t touch it…”

Hordak’s eyes widened and he felt a shiver down his spine. Every illogical thought, every confusion, every strange feeling of the past few weeks flooded through him at once. It was no longer an impossible dream. He could be free, right now.

The realization was both exciting and terrifying. Hordak might never fully remember his former life, and here he had a purpose as one of the Horde. He owed his very existence to Horde Prime. To elevate himself above that existence was blasphemy. 

There was also the risk Hordak would lose all of what he had managed to reconstruct of himself in the time he spent with Entrapta. “How certain are you that this will work?” he asked.

“I’d say we have a sixty percent chance of success,” she said. 

“And if it fails, what will you do?”

“Start over, I guess. I’m not going to leave you behind.” Entrapta paused. “Do you want me to try it?”

Hordak closed his eyes, weighing his options. If he chose to do this, it would be a step into the unknown with no turning back. The Hivemind would be gone, and he would be alone.

“Hordak?” 

The sound of her voice steadied him. He took a long slow breath. _ I am not alone. Entrapta is with me. _

They would take this step together.

“Do it.”


	5. Rebellion

The ship’s alarm was blaring, red lights flashing along the web of corridors. Clad in a stolen spacesuit that was decidedly not her size, Entrapta clutched the detached arm cannon of a sentry bot in her hands as she ran behind Hordak. He knew where he was going, and as long as she followed him, they would not get lost. 

They had run into trouble almost from the outset. As soon as one sentry caught sight of them, the alarm was raised, and at almost every turn more bots and Horde clones appeared to block their way. The speed at which the message sent was incredibly impressive. They needed to be quick to have any chance of leaving before Horde Prime himself could get involved.

Since Hordak was disconnected from the Hivemind, he was in no danger of Prime possessing him from a distance. The drawback was he could not see his brothers’ movements to maneuver out of their way. This didn’t discourage Entrapta. Hordak could still access the computer monitors and open any doors shut against them. He would also be able to activate the ship they would use for their escape.

They had reached a large brightly-lit door and Hordak came to a stop. Entrapta knew this must be one of the hangar bays. As the barrier came down, she grew starry-eyed with amazement. “Incredible!”

The hangar was lined with spacecraft of various sizes. Two were absolutely colossal. Glossy white, they made the wide room look small, and dwarfed the smaller craft lined on either side. These smaller ships were long and needle-like, aligned like two rows of spears. Only a thin shimmering field stood between the ships and open space. At the edge of the bay, the far wall opened to reveal a vast blanket of luminescent clouds and inky black interspersed with countless pinpoints of light.

Entrapta almost swooned at the prospect of exploring one of the larger ships. She cried out in surprise as Hordak grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, a laser blast missing her head by inches. 

“Focus,” he hissed.

That was when she noticed the bots. The two ships nearest them were open, and rows of armored robots were emptying from the boarding ramps. There were at least thirty blocking the way. Entrapta risked a look back and saw five Horde clones enter the hangar. They were surrounded.

“What is this foolishness, little brother?”

Hordak stiffened, turning to join Entrapta as they faced the line of clones. The lead Horde clone drew back his hood and flashed a predatory smile.

“So, the poisonous weed has truly corrupted you,” Prime drawled as he came forward. “There is nowhere you can go that I cannot reach, nowhere you can hide that I cannot see. It is useless to fight.”

He walked several steps closer, and Entrapta leveled her cannon at his chest in an effort to keep him back. Prime laughed, still looking at Hordak. 

“But I am merciful. I will give you one final chance to return to my good graces.” He turned his glowing eyes to Entrapta. “Destroy her, and all will be forgiven.”

Entrapta’s eyes met Hordak’s. Surely after everything he would not turn on her now. Hordak was hesitating, and the longer he stared at her, the more afraid she became. Her deepest fears came welling up to the surface. He was risking everything for her, but she wasn’t worth that. Entrapta’s hands shook as she realized this was the end. She would not fight Hordak. She couldn’t.

Then Hordak smiled at her. It was a small grim smile, but it was enough, and in that moment nothing else mattered. 

“No,” he said firmly, turning to Prime. “I will not.” 

Prime’s eyes narrowed to two green slits. 

“Entrapta is my friend,” Hordak went on. “She has given me freedom, and I will never again submit to your will!”

In an instant, Prime’s anger transformed into laughter. The sound echoed through the hangar. “Then you shall watch her die,” he proclaimed. “And then, little brother, I shall end your worthless existence.”

A high metallic hum joined the sound of the alarm as the bots behind them charged their cannons. Entrapta readjusted her grip on her own weapon, casting a last glance at Hordak. “I will leave those to you,” he said to her. “Try to leave at least one ship intact.”

“Okay!” Spinning around, Entrapta took her first shot into the line of bots. 

She had modified the cannon to give it more firepower. The results were explosive, but the kickback nearly knocked her off her feet. The line of fire was dragged upward, slicing into one of the ships. With a groan and a roar, the ship erupted into flames, shrapnel embedding into several nearby bots. Entrapta’s awkward stumble managed to save her from the first wave of laser fire with only minor grazing. Normally she would have had her hair to steady her. The cropped strands stood on end beneath her helmet as she sprinted to the left, avoiding enemy fire, ducking behind a large piece of debris for cover.

Resting her cannon on the debris, Entrapta fired again. She felt a rush as the modified laser cut through a long line of bots, reducing them to a pile of flaming scraps. Laser fire whizzed past her head, but she did not duck down, laughing as she fired a second shot into the line. At the rate this cannon was going, taking down the rest of the bots should be no problem.

One of the bots managed a direct hit to the cannon, nearly tearing it from her hands. Entrapta knelt down behind the debris to examine the damage. The metal was cracked and smoking, but it should still work with a few minor tweaks. She was lucky Hordak managed to find her gloves with her tools. Otherwise the sparks coming from the burnt wires would have singed her hands. Unable to do more, Entrapta brought the cannon back up and tried to fire again. The cannon whined loudly, shaking in her hands, before firing one last volatile blast. 

When Entrapta peered through the smoke at the wreckage of the bots, none were still standing. The laser cannon was now useless, cracked almost in half by the force of the final blast. She would have to salvage another.

Leaping over the debris, Entrapta made her way to the scattered pieces of armored bots. If she could find one of them with an intact cannon, she could get herself another weapon. 

“Ha! Found one!”

Dragging the bot’s mangled torso from the flames, Entrapta got to work separating the cannon cleanly from the arm so it could still fire remotely. “Or I could just fire it from here,” she mused aloud.

Tearing a panel from the side of the cannon, she set about rewiring the power mechanism. “That should do it!” Entrapta lifted the cannon and turned to where Hordak was still fighting two of the clones.

Hordak had managed to hold his own so far, but he was visibly tiring. The clones would overpower him if she didn’t do something. Taking aim and hoping she wouldn’t hit Hordak, Entrapta activated the laser.

Nothing happened.

Letting out a groan of frustration, she turned the cannon over and reexamined the connection. It should have worked. What had she done wrong?

Ahead of her, Hordak managed to knock another clone to the floor, finishing him off with a solid strike to the head. Entrapta would have cheered, but the final clone was already on top of him, taking the opportunity to strike him from behind. The blow landed with brutal precision, right at the base of Hordak’s neck.

Hordak’s eyes dimmed. Entrapta watched in numb shock as he collapsed to the floor. The final clone left him where he fell and began to advance on her, but she was still staring at Hordak, the cannon hanging loosely in her hands. 

The clone was almost on top of her when Entrapta dragged herself to her senses. Flinching, she raised the bot’s arm and aimed it straight at the approaching clone. “Stay back!”

The cannon fired just as he lunged for her, hitting him full in the chest. He flew back and landed in a crumpled heap. Entrapta kept the cannon raised, ready to fire again, but he did not get up. 

“Hordak!”

Casting aside her weapon, Entrapta rushed to Hordak’s side. He was lying face down, unresponsive. “Wake up,” she pleaded, shaking his shoulders. “Please!”

The socket at the back of his neck had gone dark. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at it. Hordak wasn’t gone. He couldn’t be. She would not believe it. He was still breathing, that much she could feel. He just had to wake up. There was only one way she could think to do it. 

Digging out her tools from her pocket, Entrapta turned her attention to the darkened terminal. Now that she looked closely, she could see a very dim light inside. That small glow of light was all she needed. Combined with the flashes of red from overhead, she could hardly see what she was doing, but Entrapta was not about to give up now.

Somewhere ahead of her, Entrapta heard a laser fire. It was all the warning she got before a white hot pain erupted in her shoulder, knocking her back. She struck the ground hard and rolled away. Her scalp tingled sharply as she tried to get up, her arms and legs working much too slowly. 

Another laser fired and missed. Entrapta managed to find her feet and looked up to see the head and torso of a half-broken bot drag itself from the flames of the wreckage. It stared at her with its diamond eye and levered its cannon at her. Before it could fire again, Entrapta dove for her weapon with a wild cry, rolling to her knees to take aim. 

Her first shot missed by a wide margin. The next glanced off its torso, knocking it back several feet, but still it stubbornly pulled itself forward. Entrapta steadied herself, wincing against the pain. She was not going to let this bot reach Hordak. The metal of the cannon felt hot in her hands as if it were in danger of overheating. That didn’t matter. All she needed was one good shot. 

The next blast struck it square in the head, and finally it lay still.

Clutching her shoulder, Entrapta returned to Hordak’s side. The terminal was still dark, but she did not let this discourage her. She knew she could do this. Tech was what she was good at. “I’m not going to leave you,” she said as she gathered her tools in trembling hands. “I promise.”

The pain in her shoulder and the loud blare of the ship’s alarm faded into the background. Nothing else mattered but the task in front of her. “Careful… careful…”

The next few moments passed like an eternity.

“Got it!” The terminal blazed with green light, and Entrapta felt Hordak jolt beside her. He groaned, shaking his head, trying to push himself up. His body was still very weak. Entrapta grabbed hold of his arm to help him and he clung to her. 

“Come on,” she said, “We’re almost to the ship.”

Together they managed to get him on his feet, though his walk was very unsteady. He blinked down at her, confused, and her heart skipped a beat at the blank look in his eyes. She must have reset his memory again in her hurry to wake him up. Hordak had no idea where they were going, no idea who she was.

Entrapta bent her head, unwilling to think about it. She was going to get them to a ship and they were going to escape. They could worry about the rest later.

“Entrapta…”

He did remember. That knowledge lifted her heart. Entrapta smiled and squeezed his hand. “I’m here.”

~~~

For the first time in the last seventeen hours Hordak allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Their escape from the flagship had not been easy, and even then a mass of Prime’s ships had pursued them. With the help of some last minute modifications Entrapta made to their vessel, Hordak was able to outmaneuver them. For now, it seemed Prime had lost their trail.

Entrapta seemed completely oblivious to the danger they were still in. She had removed her newly acquired spacesuit in order to repair it, but despite Hordak’s efforts, she was dismissive of her own injuries. Instead, Entrapta was up and exploring the ship as soon as they were in open space. 

She had finally worn herself out ogling every inch of the ship's interior. Now she was by the front console, staring in wonder at the wide expanse of stars outside. Hordak came to stand beside her, his eyes traveling from the floating strands of her cropped hair to the raw red burn on her shoulder. He wanted to thank her, to tell her how much it meant to him that she never gave up despite how much she suffered, that she believed he was something more than a shadow of Prime’s image. The words remained tangled inside his head. 

Entrapta turned to him, bright-eyed. “We’re in space!” she exclaimed.

Hordak almost opened his mouth to say they had been in space for days. Instead he smiled back at her, letting her optimism lift his own spirits. He placed his hand on her good shoulder, and Entrapta took this as an invitation for a hug. This time she held him much more gently, and he did not hesitate to return her embrace. 

“I’m so happy you’re here with me,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

“As am I,” he answered softly. He wondered if this was something they used to do when they lived on Etheria. It didn’t feel familiar, but it was warm and comforting. The unpleasant ache of his illness had returned again, but Hordak was not going to let it scare him, not when he felt so light.

“I think I will rest for a moment,” he said. “Would you like to pilot the ship?”

She pulled back to look up at him, and her smile was transcendent. “You want  _ me _ to fly the ship? Ah!” Entrapta let out a squeak of pure joy. “I’ve been watching you, of course,” she went on as she settled her hands over the controls, “so I’ve got a pretty good idea how it works. Let’s see what this does!”

Hordak gripped the rim of the console as the ship lurched to the side. “Careful!”

“Sorry, sorry! I got it!”

Another bout of pain hit him and Hordak grimaced, grateful Entrapta was too distracted to notice. “I have charted a course for a planet with an atmosphere that should be compatible to yours,” he said. “We will be able to resupply there.”

“Oooh, what’s it called? Have you ever been there before? What’s it like?”

“I have never been there,” he answered. “You are welcome to search the records.”

She was already one step ahead. “There’s not much information here… but that’s ok. We’ll have so much to discover when we get there!”

Hordak nodded silently. Sitting down in the copilot seat, he closed his eyes, leaving Entrapta in control of the ship. Perhaps it was ill-advised, but he trusted her to pilot them safely. If any dangers presented themselves, Prime or one of the countless other hazards of open space, he would be ready to help.

They had done it. Together, they were going to see the stars. 


	6. Epilogue

The ship Entrapta and Hordak had taken was originally intended to be controlled by robotic pilots. As a result, the ship had very few supplies. What was of greatest interest to Entrapta, however, was the half dozen inactive Horde robots sitting folded in the supply room. She had already dismantled the core processing units so the bots could not be used to alert Horde Prime to their location. Now that they were harmless, they made for the perfect materials for Entrapta’s latest project.

She was originally working on a new set of armor for Hordak, but with her current limitations, progress was slow. Only the arm plates were finished so far. The tingling in her scalp was gradually becoming less distracting, allowing Entrapta to focus on her work, but it was still frustrating to have only two limbs to work with. Eventually a new idea swept over her, throwing her on a completely different track. 

“It would be ideal to be able to control the limbs directly,” Entrapta mused to herself as she sat cross-legged on the floor. “Hordak would have to help me attach it, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I could leave it on permanently, or at least until my hair grows back. Maybe by then I’ll want to keep it!”

The door opened, and Entrapta turned to see Hordak enter the room. “Hordak, wait till you see what I’m making! I’ve designed a mechanism to attach mechanical limbs to my back so I can work faster!” 

Hordak blinked in surprise, looking from her to the pile of scrap scattered in front of her.

Entrapta stopped short, her excitement dimming. “Sorry, I know I promised to make your armor, and I  _ was _ working on it. I just got... distracted.”

She looked up shyly, hoping he wasn’t disappointed or angry. “I did manage to get some done," she offered. "I can check the fit, if you want.” 

A strange emotion came over his face, too quickly for Entrapta to understand what it was, then Hordak smiled. “Do not worry about the armor,” he said. “My condition is stable for now. Tell me about this new invention of yours.”

Entrapta did not need prompting twice. “It’s going to be great!” She held up the hollow half-shell she had so far. “I’ve designed it like a backpack, not too heavy, but big enough to fit all the limbs. They could extend out one at a time or all at once. I was thinking of having six arms, but maybe that’s too much. Or is it not enough?”

“We are short on materials,” Hordak pointed out. “Perhaps you could add more attachments at a later time.”

“Good point. I might have only enough for four, but I could leave room for another two...”

Her thought was interrupted by a sudden beeping noise from the main deck. It was too soft to be an alarm. Curious, Entrapta rose to her feet. “What does that sound mean?”

Hordak frowned. “We may be intercepting a message.”

“A message?” Entrapta brightened. “I have to see who it is!”

Quickly she made her way to the console and searched the monitor for the source of the sound. Finding it, she immediately brought up the transmission.

Sure enough, a faint voice was coming through. Entrapta felt her excitement building. The voice was garbled, yet it seemed familiar. She adjusted the dials to bring the transmission into sharper clarity. A few more tweaks and she had it. There was still some distortion, but the message was clear.

“Adora? Adora, please say something! Please tell me you’re ok. Adora!”

Entrapta’s heart leapt at the sound of his voice. “Bow!” Quickly, she tuned her own device to the proper frequency and hoped they were close enough to respond. “Bow!” she called again.

There was a brief pause. “Entrapta?”

“Hi Bow! I got your message! Are you in space too?” She gasped. “Did you take Darla to space?!”

“Darla? Who-- never mind. Entrapta, there’s no time. If I send you my coordinates, can you come meet me? I could really use your help.”

“Sure!” Entrapta agreed. “Hordak and I will come right over!”

“ _ Hordak _ is with you?” Bow’s voice nearly cracked.

“Of course!” She waved her hand as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “We escaped from Horde Prime’s ship together. I have so much to tell you when we get back!”

“Entrapta, don’t you think--?”

“Who is this?” Hordak interrupted. “And how was he able to contact this ship?”

“This is my friend Bow,” Entrapta replied, smiling. “He needs our help, and he’s giving us directions. They have a First One’s ship. Wait till you see it!”

Bow murmured something under his breath. “I’m sending the coordinates now. Please come as soon as you can.”

Entrapta nodded “Got it! I’m uploading the coordinates into the system. It should only take a moment.”

“Thank you, Entrapta. Stay safe out there.”

“Will do!” With that, Entrapta closed the transmission. The monitor had already accepted the coordinates and charted a course to their destination. As much as she longed to explore open space, she didn’t want to miss an opportunity to have Hordak meet Darla, and Bow too.

Entrapta turned to Hordak, beaming. “Isn’t this exciting? I’ve fixed the autopilot, so it should be able to follow the course. Do you think we should try it, or follow the coordinates manually?”

Hordak looked from her to the bright path illuminated on the monitor. He had no idea what he was getting into, but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. With Entrapta by his side, he could face anything. 

“I think I prefer to use manual control for a while.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This started out as a personal project I intended to keep safely tucked away on my computer, but with some encouragement from friends, I decided to edit and share it. I hope you enjoyed the ride!


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